Letters for Oct. 25, 2015

Letters for Oct. 25, 2015

Branch Harmony showed true aloha spirit

We were sorry to learn that Branch Harmony will no longer host the Koloa Sunshine Market. For years now, his friendly greeting in both Hawaiian and English have been a welcome “aloha” to us on the South Shore.

We remember the market before Branch took over: there was a rope across the road which was dropped at the stroke of 12 and people pushed and rushed to get in. We stopped attending Koloa and went to Hanapepe which was much more civilized. When we heard that Branch was the host, we returned to Koloa and were pleased that people with walking disabilities, people with recent operations and seniors over 90 could go in ahead of the crowd and wait for the whistle to blow after they had reached the vendors.

Last week when Branch had become just a seller, we were disappointed that the county person had gone back to the “dropping the line” idea. As taxpayers, we couldn’t help but wonder why a new county staff position had been added to replace a successful volunteer. Are we going to be forced to drive to Hanapepe again? Where is the Hawaiian spirit?

Jan and Peter Sterne

Koloa

Please study real history of America

Mr. Bartolo needs to take a course in American Indian history; I know of good Indian studies programs that would help him. I read his letter in Sunday’s paper (TGI, Oct. 18) and was thoroughly disgusted.

As a woman with dual citizenship (Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the United States), and as a Potawatomi Indian historian/genealogist, I honestly don’t know where he’s coming from, or maybe again I do.

First of all, who “created” American history? The conquerors, non-indigenous people who thought they had a better understanding of what was good for Native peoples. So they shared their diseases with us, gave us alcohol and cheated us out of our land while moving us westward to reservations. In the name of religion, they subjugated us, tortured and murdered us. They forbid our religious practices (we finally gained religious freedom in 1975), stole our women and sent our children to boarding schools where they tried to beat the Indianness out of us (my grandmother was sent to Chilocco Indian School; my cousin Jim Thorpe attended Haskell Indian Junior college and Carlisle Indian school before becoming an Olympic star in 1912). And yes, we were using tools long before Mr. Bartolo’s Neanderthal ancestors came over. We also grew crops and hunted and fished.

As for his comment that carrying forward our language and culture is “especially relevant for tourism” — do you know how racist that is? I divorced myself from Christianity because of these elitist attitudes.

Meanwhile, thank you Ms. Freitas, for your letter, also in Sunday’s paper. It’s much appreciated.

So, Mr. Bartolo, spend this winter taking courses on the real history of America, not something filled with lies and fabricated for the uninformed.

Susan J. Campbell

Citizen Potawatomi Nation